


But With a Whimper

by thesolemneyed



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Apocalypse, Drabble, M/M, This is really not cheerful please be warned, alternative universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-09
Updated: 2021-01-09
Packaged: 2021-03-13 13:20:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28654146
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thesolemneyed/pseuds/thesolemneyed
Summary: We have only one minuteand I love you.-Dunya Mikhail+Love, what is left for us, and of us, is thisliving remnant, loving revenant, brief kiss-Mandelstam, tr Wiman
Relationships: Hong Jisoo | Joshua/Yoon Jeonghan
Kudos: 7
Collections: Seventeen Holidays





	But With a Whimper

**Author's Note:**

> One last one for the first round of 17Hols! 
> 
> I wanted to try another 400 word challenge - I found this one so much harder though ;-;

The storms have been coming more and more frequently. 

They crash like breaking waves around Jeonghan’s carefully built visage of acceptance, making him shudder as Joshua holds him tightly to his chest, dragging deep breaths into his shallow lungs. 

The lightning at least lights up Joshua’s face enough for Jeonghan to see the gentle curve of his jaw, the soft outline of his nose, a glimpse of his kind mouth. The sun hasn’t graced the sky for a long time, and these brief snapshots are all Jeonghan has to go on now; that and his memory. 

Sometimes, Joshua looks at him in the same moment, and their eyes will meet, and Joshua’s fear unfurls into a smile, his mouth loosening into a small grin. Jeonghan sees his lips form the outline of something, but he wouldn’t be able to catch the words over the din of the thunder. He imagines them though as he presses their lips - once soft, now chapped and dry - together in the ensuing darkness, cradles the sentiment close to his faintly beating heart.

The quiet is worse, though. The long stretches where there is no cacophony of distraction from the empty space where there was once a symphony.

The quiet makes it easier to hear the others. Soft sobs stoppered by shredded knuckles, harmonious moans of grief echoing through them, a child’s whimper, that noise louder than anything else. 

There used to be other sounds; coughs and murmurs of reassurance, sometimes even a laugh from far away. But it’s been a long while since Jeonghan heard any of that. Whether their voices ceased from lack of use, or for some other reason is impossible to tell, but even whispers now are impossible.

Despite the deafening pressure of the quiet, Joshua’s hand always finds its way into Jeonghan’s, his thumb tracing the lines on his palm, feeling out the lie of a life line engraved onto him. The pressure of another person’s body should feel like too much to bear, would if it were anyone else, but Joshua’s heat at least smothers Jeonghan’s shivering for a brief while. 

If he could speak, Jeonghan would distract Joshua with bright, hopeful stories of miracles, of survival, of dashing heroes charging in on brave horses at the last minute, just before the axe fell. 

But, for them, the axe fell years ago. They’re just waiting for their heads to roll.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed (?) this ! 
> 
> Come play on twitter (@thesolemneyed) !


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